Michael Jackson’s burial took place today at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, 70 days after his death on June 25.  Around 200 family and friends attended the private outdoor ceremony. Some of the celebrities included Elizabeth Taylor, Lisa Marie Presley, Barry Bonds, Macaulay Culkin and Corey Feldman. Debbie Rowe had been invited but did not attend and neither did Diana Ross. 

The service started an hour and a half late at 8:35 p.m. PT, as some members of the family were delayed in arriving, and took place outside of the Great Mausoleum. The hearse carrying Michael Jackson, escorted by two police motorcycles, arrived immediately after the last of the  family members. Michael Jackson’s three children Paris, Prince and Blanket placed a gold crown on their father’s coffin before the service began. Gladys Knight  sang “His Eye Is On The Sparrow”  and songwriter Clifton Davis performed the signature Jackson 5 hit he wrote “Never Can Say Goodbye”. Joe Jackson and Reverend Al Sharpton spoke remembering Michael Jackson and saying their goodbyes.

Just before 10 p.m. local time, Michael Jackson was interred in a crypt at Holly Terrace, one of 11 hallways located inside the Great Mausoleum.

The Los Angeles coroner released an official statement today ruling Michael Jackson’s death as a homicide and cause of death was “acute propofol intoxication”.

The official statement read as follows:  “Earlier this month, the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner completed its investigation into the death of Michael Joseph Jackson, age 50, who died on June 25, 2009. The cause of death was established as acute propofol intoxication. Other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect. The manner of death has been ruled: Homicide. The drugs Propofol and Lorazepam were found to be the primary drugs responsible for Mr. Jackson’s death. Other drugs detected were: Midazolam, Diazepam, Lidocaine and Ephedrine. The final coroner’s report includes a complete toxicology report will remain on security hold at the request of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney. In accordance with this request, the Department of Coroner will not comment on its completed investigation.”

Homicide means that the death occurred due to the hands of another person and does not necessarily imply that it would lead to criminal charges.

Michael Jackson died on June 25 after going into cardiac arrest. Attempts to revive him had failed by his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who was with him in his rented Holmby Hills home at the time. Paramedics were called  and they also tried to resuscitate Michael Jackson while rushing him by ambulance to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Doctors there were unable to save Michael Jackson and he was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. local time.

Michael Jackson will be buried on his birthday, August 29, as stated in a press release from Sunshine, Sachs & Associates on behalf of the Jackson family. The burial will take place at 10 a.m. PST in the Great Mausoleum’s Holly Terrace at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. It will be a private ceremony to be attended by family and close friends. Media will be allowed nearby the park.

The Forest Lawn Memorial Park has 300 acres of immaculately landscaped grounds and around 250,000 people are buried there, including numerous celebrities like James Stewart, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Humphrey Bogart, Jean Harlow and Walt Disney.  Also more than 60,000 people have also been married there such as Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman. It is a popular tourist attraction which draws around 1 million visitors per year.

The Holly Terrace in the Great Mausoleum, where Michael Jackson will be interred, features a replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s stained glass Last Supper and all the major art works of Michelangelo.  A  regal final resting place fitting for the  “king of pop“.

The Jackson family stated in the news release , they once again wish  to express their “gratitude to Michael’s fans around the world for their support during these difficult times.”

On the day that Michael Jackson will be buried would have been his 51st birthday.

Michael Jackson achieved enormous success during his life, giving alot of himself through his music and charitable work. To some he came across as unusual or eccentric but seems he felt he was misunderstood. He has been in the public spotlight since he was a child and therefore didn’t have a normal upbringing. Michael Jackson has always stated that he didn’t have a childhood and his fame came at a price.

Michael Jackson’s music continues to dominate the charts with over 9 million in record sales worldwide since his death, according to The Times. Nielsen SoundScan indicated that in the US alone, 1.1 million albums sold in the last week and in total over 2.3 million since his death three weeks ago.

With no doubt, the popularity of Michael Jackson’s music, performances and memorabilia is not losing any interest as fans continue to snap them up. Now that Michael Jackson is gone, the closest anyone can get to seeing or hearing him is through his music and taped performances. All this demand is a way for fans to keep his memory alive.